Spacey: 'House of Cards' not far from reality

By LEIGH MUNSIL

02/16/2014 11:13 AM EST

Actor Kevin Spacey says his Netflix show "House of Cards" isn't that far from the reality of politics in Washington.

"Look, for me, it's like performance art," he said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "We can get done shooting on a day, and I'll come home and turn on the news and think: 'You know, our storylines are not that crazy, they're really not.'"

With some exceptions, "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos cut in, such as politicians murdering people who get in their way.

"I've heard from lots of people," Spacey said. "Some people feel that 99 percent of the show is accurate, and that the 1 percent that isn't is that you could never get an education bill passed that quickly."

Knocking Congress for its gridlock, Spacey added he wouldn't be surprised if President Barack Obama wished he could get better results, like Spacey's ruthless character, Frank Underwood.

"It must be really interesting for not just the American public but people around the world to view a very effective Congress that gets things done. So I can imagine that [Obama] must feel: 'Gosh, I wish we could move that quickly,'" he said.

Spacey said he shadowed House Majority Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to prepare for the role and was struck by how difficult it is to get the party to vote one way or another.

"He actually said recently that, 'If I could kill just one member of Congress, I'd never have to worry about another vote,'" Spacey said.